Our website uses cookies to improve your user experience. If you continue browsing, we assume that you consent to our use of cookies. More information can be found in our Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

Congress

Last week, Facebook’s CEO donned a suit instead of a hoodie and made his way to Capitol Hill, where he was questioned by American lawmakers in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

That scandal, the largest the world’s largest social network has ever dealt with, has brought Facebook’s collection and use of data into the spotlight. With negative headlines being published daily and the threat of regulation on the horizon, the company’s public appearance shy chief, Mark Zuckerberg, had little choice but to go before lawmakers and answer questions.

Parts of the internet will go black tomorrow. From Wikipedia and Reddit to the Cheezburger network and Major League Gaming, numerous highly-trafficked web properties say they’ll shut down to protest the SOPA legislation that would make the internet far less free in the name of fighting piracy.

The digital advertising rebound may soon have an ace up its sleeve. Congress is on track to retract its ban on internet gambling. The taxes from such a move could send the government as much as $42 billion over the next 10 years. Digital publishers stand to gain a lot from those winnings as well.

It seems all anyone’s talking about in terms of online policy these days is Facebook’s privacy kerfluffle. Which is kind of a big deal, but small potatoes, really, when compared to the really big, burning, important issue of the day: net neutrality.

This critical issue may not be at the forefront of news, opinion columns and debate in the media, but the fact that digital marketers and e-commerce providers are ignoring it is as baffling as it is inexcusable. The major broadband providers: Comcast, Verizon, AT&T and Time Warner want to tax content providers. They want to determine what sites their subscribers can access, and how quickly – giving priority, of course, to their own products and services.

Privacy advocates and online advertisers alike have long awaited a bill from Congress that will tackle the issue of behavioral advertising online. Today, Reps. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and Cliff Stearns released (R-Fla.) a “discussion” draft of the bill (pdf here) that requires advertisers to allow consumers to opt-out of online tracking.

Considering that is already standard business practice, it appears that the online ad industry’s efforts at self-regulation have been initially successful. But privacy advocates are not going to take this setback lying down.

It’s funny how the federal government’s position on behavioral targeting changes when it wants to use the information gathered. According to CNET:

“The FBI is pressing Internet service providers to record which Web
sites customers visit and retain those logs for two years, a
requirement that law enforcement believes could help it in
investigations of child pornography and other serious crimes.”